I’ll be honest with you, I don’t care if the new Candlemass is inspired by Parcheesi. It’s new Candlemass. That’s what matters. The Swedish legends of doom metal led by bassist Leif Edling present four new songs on their upcoming House of Doom EP, which takes its name from, yeah, a video game, and will be released by Napalm on May 25 ahead of a reported new full-length due this autumn. More new Candlemass? Mark it a win. Some things just make the universe a better place.

They’ve got a lyric video up for the House of Doom title-track that you can see at the bottom of this post, and yes, it kicks ass. Doom doesn’t get much more doom than Candlemass. They pretty much built this ‘House.’

From the PR wire:

CANDLEMASS TO RELEASE NEW EP ‘HOUSE OF DOOM’ ON MAY 25th!

It only takes a few short bars of the title track “House Of Doom” to feel that familiar sensation again: yes, Leif Edling aka the undisputed king of minor key songwriting has returned. With him, he brings frenzied riffing, melancholy made sound and warm Hammond organ tapestries that form the pillars of every CANDLEMASS classic!

Mats Levén on the EP:

“We in Candlemass are proud to present 4 new songs to the world on the new EP ‘House of Doom’! The title track is inspired by the House of Doom game from Hyperfrost. We’re also very happy that our label Napalm Records are with us all the way – 2018 will be a big year for Candlemass!”

The Swedish pioneers of doom managed once again to distill the essence of epic doom metal – and at the same time they make waiting for the next long player (to be released in fall 2018) even harder…

In addition to the regular EP there will be 10″ etched vinyl with an exclusive 9,5 minutes long version of the song ‘The House Of Doom’. This 10″ will be available to win from April 27th.

The vinyl cannot be bought, it can only be obtained by playing the game HOUSE OF DOOM.

To win the contest users need to sign up to a selected casino through the houseofdoom.com website.

Winners of the contest will be selected at random. Supply is limited so this will be a very rare and collectible item. You can win other exclusive merchandise by playing the game, including signed t-shirts and more.

Time marches on and the lineup for Freak Valley 2018 only grows more substantial. I won’t take anything away from Wolf People (whose Ruins album currently sits in my Amazon cart awaiting purchase) or Steak or No Man’s Valley or Mountain Dust here, who’ve all joined the ranks, but the highlight here has to be the addition to doom legends Candlemass to the Freak Valley 2018 melange. If you haven’t seen them in the last few years, the Swedish innovators are absolutely dead-on on stage, and though it’s coming up on six years since they released their last full-length, they still do nothing but kill when it comes to delivering a set.

I wrote the announcement for them and everyone else that you’ll find below, as posted by Freak Valley on the social medias:

Freaks, assemble!

Gather ‘round – it’s time for the next round of adds to our already-sold-out, already-massive 2018 incarnation of FREAK VALLEY FESTIVAL! It’s got legends with ancient dreams and upstarts with tales of red rains, but before we dive in, we’d like to personally thank each and every one of you for making Freak Valley 2018 a sell-out months in advance. It warms our freaky hearts to know you feel as passionately about this as we do, and we can’t wait to welcome everyone to Freak Valley 2018 on May 30!

Alright, enough mushy stuff. Time to welcome Candlemass, Wolf People, Steak, Mountain Dust, and No Man’s Valley to the lineup!

CANDLEMASS

Since Epicus Doomicus Metallicus, nobody has doomed quite like the Swedish legends in Candlemass. Bassist Leif Edling has spent decades conjuring riffs that have become classics, and from that first album in 1986 through the new EP House of Doom coming in May, they’ve never failed to deliver Sabbath-worthy vibes and a groove all their own. There’s only one Candlemass and we couldn’t be more stoked to have them as part of Freak Valley 2018!

WOLF PEOPLE

In 2016, UK psychedelic four-piece Wolf People released their third album, Ruins, and told a tale of an earth without people. The buzz and the spaciousness through which the band created these unpopulated soundscapes were gorgeous, and still somehow tied to a folkish pulse. They’re not to be missed when they take the Freak Valley stage, and if you think you know the reaches of psychedelia, think again.

STEAK

As meaty as their name, these UK riff aficionados have been dominating Britain and beyond for years now, and their welcome to Freak Valley can only be called overdue. Their second album, No God to Save, came out on Ripple Music last year and absolutely blew us away with in following up 2014’s desert homage Slab City, as Steak came more into their own and their groove became even more lethal.

MOUNTAIN DUST

With cuts like “Evil Deeds” and “Tale of the Red Rain,” Montreal’s Mountain Dust proffered organ-laced blues across their 2016 debut, Nine Years, and blew away listeners and critics alike with the force and soul of their delivery. They’ve got a new record in the works for this year and will hit Freak Valley as part of their first-ever European tour, so don’t miss on these up and comers while you’ve got the chance to catch them now!

NO MAN’S VALLEY

Few first albums hit us as hard as the heavy blues of No Man’s Valley’s Time Travel upon its release in 2016. Like The Flying Eyes and All Them Witches before them, the interplay of keys and guitar and tales of witches gave a classic atmosphere to the Netherlands outfit’s work, and their memorable songwriting only made even more of an impression. We’re keeping our fingers crossed they show off some new material!

Candlemass, Ancient Dreams (1988)

As the history of doom metal has been written and rewritten over the years, it’s easy to see how Swedish epic-doom innovators Candlemass have been pushed to the side. This is due in part to trend pulling away from their often grandiose fare in favor of rawer cultism derived from garage rock and/or the original psychedelic era, and due in part to the band themselves, whose on-again-off-again reunion-making has been going on for more than a decade marked by sparse touring and releases that at this point are good enough and unheralded enough for one to legitimately consider them underrated. This, however, does nothing to take away from the landmark nature of the Swedes’ early works.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before — or, better yet, don’t — but it’s the first three records. In the case of Candlemass, I’d even go first four, considering the landmark shift in lineup that took place between the first and second, as original vocalist Johan Längquist stepped out to make way for the arrival of Messiah Marcolin, who would become one of doom’s defining frontmen. Marcolin made his debut with Candlemass on Nightfall in 1987 and would go on to leave his mark on the genre across that album, 1988’s Ancient Dreams, and 1989’s Tales of Creation before departing the band, who continued on first with Thomas Vikström on 1992’s Chapter VI and then Björn Flodkvist on 1998’s Dactylis Glomerata and 1999’s From the 13th Sun before finally running out of steam and calling it quits for a few years.

Now, I will never, ever, ever take anything away from Längquist‘s contributions to Candlemass‘ first LP, 1986’s Epicus Doomicus Metallicus. One fantasizes a day when founding bassist and main songwriter Leif Edling orchestrates a reunion with Längquist for a studio release, and all the more after Längquist delivered such a striking performance a few years back captured on the Epicus Doomicus Metallicus Live at Roadburn 2011 LP (review here), but the stage presence and all-in charisma of Marcolin isn’t to be understated. Amid Edling‘s classic, almost medieval post-Sabbathian riffing on songs like “Darkness in Paradise” and the “Mob Rules”-esque “Bells of Acheron,” Marcolin‘s command of Ancient Dreams on levels of technicality and chemistry is unflinching.

Even the chugging gallop of rhythm guitarist Mats “Mappe” Björkman and the shred of Lars “Lasse” Johansson on side B opener “Bearer of Pain” do nothing to hold Marcolin back. I’m not sure anything could. His voice pushes so easily into operatic vibrato that he not only deserves mention among the most powerful of metal singers — consider Ronnie James Dio, Robert Lowe, Hansi Kürsch, etc. — and after establishing himself on Nightfallwith an inimitable performance on cuts like “At the Gallows End,” “Samarithan” and “Bewitched,” he’d continue to set a nigh on impossible standard across Ancient Dreams beginning with the speedy opener “Mirror Mirror” and continuing through the winding lumber of the title-track — speaking of underrated, drummer Jan Lindh‘s propensity for giving a crawling progression an underlying sense of motion is second to none among classic metal-style percussionists — all the way into the murk of closer “Epistle No. 81,” with lyrics written by 18th Century Swedish poet Carl Michael Bellman.

The bleak minor-key intro and the ensuing headbang-ready chug of “A Cry from the Crypt” seem to be a direct answer to “At the Gallows End” from the record preceding, but Marcolin takes the melody elsewhere, soaring in the dramatic verses as only he could, and whether it’s the brief subdued movement in the second half of “Darkness in Paradise” or the I-wield-this-storm wizardry atop the double-kick circa two minutes into “Bells of Acheron,” Ancient Dreams makes it plain just how special the dynamic in Candlemass was at this stage in their career. There was doom before them and there’s certainly been a lot of doom since, but the accomplishments of Candlemass between 1986 and 1990 are not to be understated when it comes either to the quality of Edling‘s songcraft or the performances of those with which he surrounded himself. These albums, while not necessarily timeless in their production, remain stunning these 30 years later.

Marcolin would of course rejoin Candlemass for their 2005 reunion that found them signing to Nuclear Blast and issuing their self-titled full-length, but was gone again by the time 2007’s King of the Grey Islandsultimately came together, with previously-mentioned Solitude Aeturnus singer Robert Lowe stepping in last-minute to fill the void as few could. Lowe would front Candlemass for that record and the two that followed, 2009’s Death Magic Doom (review here) and 2012’s Psalms for the Dead (review here), as the band moved from Nuclear Blast to Napalm Records for the latter, and would himself leave, only to have his position taken by Mats Levén (ex-Therion, among many others), who appeared on last year’s four-song Death Thy Lover EP (review here), which one can only hope was a test-run ahead of a full-length to arrive at some later date. As it would be six years after their last full-length, 2018 would be as good a time as any so far as I’m concerned.

As always, I hope you enjoy, and of course, doom on.

—

Tonight, I make pesto. It will be part of the first meal I’ve had since last Saturday not made of protein powder, and it will happen in a multi-stage process. First, I make garlic paste.

This involves store-bought roasted garlic, potentially my own fresh-roasted garlic as well — peel the cloves, foil over a ramekin with olive oil, water, black pepper; in the oven at 350 for an hour or so — plus fresh garlic, garlic powder, and a bit of olive oil. It all goes in the food processor and doesn’t come out until it looks like smooth peanut butter from an alternate universe. Should have the texture of a spread, in other words. It is delicious and lethal.

Once that’s done and in the fridge — I have a special container ready to go because I used regular tupperware for it once and had to run it through the dishwasher like six times to get the garlic smell out — then the pesto process begins in earnest. I’ll cut basil from what remains of the summer’s plant which I brought in out of the cold and have been doing my best to keep alive with a grow light and regular watering, to some avail. I have a couple store-bought packs of basil for backup as well. Once trimmed and washed, that will go in the recently-scrapped-out food processor with olive oil, more garlic, fresh-roasted pine nuts and Brazil nuts, red pepper flakes, maybe a hot pickled ring pepper or two, some onion powder, a light flourish of romano and parmesan cheeses, a splash of egg whites for thickness, salt, and indeed some of that garlic paste I just made, and be combined pretty much until it looks right. It’ll be light green with darker flecks of basil and will taste like a multi-tiered gift from the gods.

Some will go in a bowl for tonight’s meal, the rest in the fridge for whenever and some more, hopefully, in the freezer for later use. Tonight’s will be combined with more garlic paste — I’m the only one having it, so #garlicworship will be in full effect — and put to use topping four pieces of cloud bread that The Patient Mrs. will bake for me. If you don’t know what cloud bread is, it’s basically an egg-based low carb bread substitute, made my separating whites and yolks, mixing in cream cheese and a few other ingredients, recombining the eggs and baking. There are a million recipes around for it. This is where the garlic paste will really come into play, as I will throw a far-beyond-copious amount into the batter, along with some red pepper flakes, before it goes into bake for about half an hour or so. I prefer it well done because that way it holds up better to the pesto that I’m about to slather all over it.

The recipe we use and the proportions will result in four pieces of cloud bread each about the size of half a burger roll, give or take, and I will eat them with pesto and maybe a couple extra cloves of roasted garlic if I’m feeling fancy/will let myself have it, and that will be dinner. I’m looking forward to it the way I’m looking forward to the next YOB record.

It feels well enough earned after this week. The Patient Mrs. and I had my father up from North Carolina where he lives to meet The Pecan this week. He and I did not speak for well over a decade, and though we’ve been in touch for years at this point and this visit was by no means the least pleasant interaction he and I have ever shared, let’s just say the relationship is a work in progress. Garlic-pesto cloud bread: achieved.

Hoping otherwise for a quiet weekend. Some of The Patient Mrs.’ family might come up, her mother or her sister and company, but that’s fine. They know the drill at this point: Quiet hours start at 7 — everyone out. The Pecan needs wind-down time and, frankly, so do we by that point. He turned six weeks old on Wednesday. Has gotten big already. I hear that keeps happening for a while. Should be interesting.

Next week begins list season around here. I figure to do the cover-art list first, since that’s always a fun one. Here’s everything in the notes so far for the week, subject to change as always:

I might jumble some of that around if premieres come along, but you can pretty much expect the next few weeks to be quiet in that regard, since the bulk of the music industry has gone into hibernation until January by now. Fair enough. Gives me some time to catch up ahead of the next Quarterly Review — likely to happen the first week of next month — and get the rest of the lists situated. I’m still not sure what my pick for album of the year is.

Speaking of, thanks to the 130-plus of you who’ve contributed to the 2017 Year-End Poll so far. That is amazing and hugely appreciated. Please keep the lists coming. There are a few tight races and I’m interested to see how they might resolve by the end of the month.

Alright, this post has gone on long enough. With pesto daydreams, I wish you a wonderful and safe weekend, whatever you might be up to. All the best from me and mine to you and yours. We’ll see you back here Monday for that list and more good times.

Thanks for reading, and please don’t forget to dig into the forum and radio stream.

I have no problem admitting to feeling overwhelmed looking at the full lineup and individual day splits for Desertfest London 2017. I mean, seriously. Look at that poster. What a way to spend a weekend.

Likewise, I have few grand reflections to offer in light of that overwhelming feeling, except perhaps to take a step back and be massively impressed at how much this event has grown in just six incarnations. Along with Desertfest Berlin, the London edition has become an anchor not only for the UK heavy rock underground — which is well represented here as ever in Elephant Tree, Black Spiders, Stubb, Vodun, Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, Terminal Cheesecake, Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters, Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard, and so on — but for bands from abroad as well. You’ll note the three headliners: two American, one Norwegian, and the next line down on the poster is two Swedish, one American. Desertfest London 2017’s reach feels wider than ever. Staring at the final lineup, it’s clear just how much of a big fucking deal this festival has become.

Wish I could be there to see it.

Here’s the announcement of the individual day lineups from their website:

DESERTFEST 2017 DAY SPLITS AND DAY TICKETS ARE HERE!

Finally, the Desertfest 2017 day and stage splits are here, along with individual day tickets. It’s the point of the year where you can start planning the weekend, you can imagine the sets in your head and you can curse those god damned clashes.

Last things first, let’s get straight to that insane Sunday main-stage. To celebrate The Roundhouse joining the Desertfest family, we made their debut appearance something special. Not only will stoner doom icons Sleep be topping the bill, but the Roundhouse hosts a full bill of huge acts. Candlemass, with over three decades of underground acclaim to their name, bring the epic doom metal. USA’s Wolves in the Throne Room bring the atmospheric black metal. Traditional doom metal stalwarts Saint Vitus bring the classic riffs. And how about this for a ‘curtain jerker’? Bongzilla bring the raw weed metal for their second show of the weekend; more on the first later.

It’s not just about the Sunday though. Friday’s stage at the Electric Ballroom is headlined by returning heroes Slo Burn whose short run in the mid 90s furthered the then fledgling stoner rock scene. One band they surely had an impact on is Lowrider, who play Europe’s finest stoner rock alongside them. Ukraine’s Stoned Jesus celebrate their resonant album Seven Thunders Roar, and 1000Mods and Pontiak round up the main stage on the Friday.

The Electric Ballroom on Saturday will be swarming with Turbojugends as death-punk grandmasters Turbonegro turn Camden into party central. John Garcia sticks around for a solo show, sure to feature classics from his years of nonstop mastery in the stoner rock scene. Sheffield’s rock and roll five piece Black Spiders visit London for one last time on their farewell tour, with Satan’s Satyrs and Avon rounding up the main stage.

As ever though, it doesn’t stop at the main stages. Our regular partners have delivered three stages with diverse lineups. Human_Disease_Promo and When Planets Collide take over The Underworld on Saturday in a bill headlined by Bongzilla with a special set celebrating the band’s early work. The Quietus stage is led by synth wavers Zombi, and Nightshift Promotions bring an eclectic mix led by Hungary’s Apey & the Pea. To be honest, just stick a pin in the lineup poster and you’re guaranteed a good time.

For those who can’t make the full weekend, we have a limited number of individual day tickets. Priced at £40 for Friday tickets, £40 for Saturday tickets and £45 for Sunday tickets, links are below.

So there we have it. Our final lineup for Desertfest 2017. We hope you’re as excited as we are to get back to Camden this April and riff London to the ground.

Please note: This post is not culled in any way from the Year-End Poll, which is ongoing. If you haven’t yet contributed your favorites of 2016 to that, please do.

—

Yeah, I know I said as much when the Top 20 Debut Albums of 2016 went up, but I take it back: this is the hardest list to put together. And to be honest, there’s a part of me that’s hesitant even to post it because I know as soon as I do someone’s going to be like, “No way you dick your entire existence is shit because you forgot Release X,” and very likely they’ll be right. Up to the very moment this post is going live, I’ve been making changes, and I expect I’ll continue to do so for a while after it’s out there.

So what’s a “short release?” That’s another issue. Pretty much anything that’s not an album. Singles, digital or physical, as well as EPs, splits, demos, and so on. The category becomes nebulous, but my general rule is if it’s not a full-length, it qualifies as a short release. Sounds simple until you get into things like, “Here’s a track I threw up on Bandcamp,” and “This only came out as a bonus included as a separate LP with the deluxe edition of our album.” I’m telling you, I’ve had a difficult time.

Maybe that’s just me trying to protect myself from impending wrath. This year’s Top 30 albums list provoked some vehement — and, if I may, prickishly-worded — responses, so I might be a bit gunshy here, but on the other hand, I think these outings are worth highlighting, so we’re going forward anyway. If you have something to add, please use the comments below, but remember we’re all friends here and there’s a human being on the other end reading what’s posted. Thanks in advance for that.

And since this is the last list of The Obelisk’s Best-of-2016 coverage, I’ll say thanks for reading as well. More to come in the New Year, of course.

Honorable Mention

An expansive category as ever. In addition to what’s above, the following stood out and no doubt more will be added over the course of the next few days. If you feel something is missing, please let me know.

Notes

Was it just the raw joy of having Scissorfight back? No, but that was for sure part of it. It was also the brazenness with which the New Hampshire outfit let go of their past, particularly frontman Christopher “Ironlung” Shurtleff, and moved forward unwilling to compromise what they wanted to do that made their Chaos County so respectable in my eyes. Having always flourished in the form, they delivered an EP of classic Scissorfight tunes and issued a stiff middle finger to anyone who would dare call them otherwise. They couldn’t have been more themselves no matter who was in the band.

At the same time, it was a hard choice between that and the Earthless / Harsh Toke split for the top spot. I mean, seriously. It’s Earthless — who at this point are the godfathers of West Coast jamadelica — and Harsh Toke, who are among the style’s most engaging upstart purveyors, each stretching out over a huge and encompassing single track. I couldn’t stop listening to that one if I wanted to, and as the year went on, I found I never wanted to.

I was glad when Mars Red Sky included the title-track of the Providence EP as a bonus cut on their subsequent album, Apex III (Praise for the Burning Soul), both because it tied the two releases together even further and because it gave me another opportunity to hear it every time I listened to the record. Their short releases have always shown significant character apart from their full-lengths, and this was no exception. I still tear up when I hear “Sapphire Vessel.”

To bounce around a bit: Had to get Mos Generator on the list for the progressive expansion of the live-recorded The Firmament. Stickman was right to put that out on vinyl. Both Monolord and Goya provided quick outings of huge riffs to sate their respective and growing followings, while Megaritual’s Eclipse basked in drone serenity and the debut release from Sergio Ch.’s Soldati provided hard-driving heavy rock with the particular nuance for which the former Los Natas frontman is known. It’s the highest among a slew of first/early outings — see also The Sweet Heat, Wren (Host was their second EP), River Cult’s demo, Stinkeye, Mindkult, Iron Jawed Guru, Brume, Wicked Gypsy and Love Gang.

Ultimately, there were fewer splits on the list this year than last year, but I’ll credit that to happenstance more than any emergent bias against the form or lack of quality in terms of what actually came out. The BoneHawk and Kingnomad release, the Ragged Barracudas and Pushy split, and that heavy rocking onslaught from Bison Machine and company were all certainly welcome by me, and I’ll mention Gorilla vs. Grifter there too again, just because it was awesome.

—

One more time, thank you for reading, and if you have something to add, please do so in the comments below. Your civility in that regard is appreciated.

This is the last of my lists for 2016, but the Readers Poll results are out Jan. 1 and the New Year hits next week and that brings a whole new round of looking-forward coverage, so stay tuned.

You were either there or you’re an imaginative sort, so I don’t need to tell you what a joy it was to see Lowrider when they played Desertfest London in 2013 (review here). They were also recently announced for Desertfest Berlin (info here), so to have them return to Camden Town for Desertfest London 2017 isn’t necessarily a huge surprise in the grand scheme, but I’m quite sure they’ll find fervent welcome when they get there, and rightly so. It’s been a long time speculating about whether or not they’ll do another record, and they may yet get there, but either way, the fact that they’re still actively playing out on choice gigs like this one is encouraging.

Also announced today? Oh, only Swedish doom legends Candlemass, Texans Venomous Maximus heading abroad for a trip that — and I’m not exaggerating — will likely triple their fanbase because that’s how good they are live, fellow Texans The Well, with whom I wouldn’t be surprised if Venomous Maximus were traveling, London heavy highlights Stubb, jammers Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, Greek forerunners 1000mods, plus Wucan, Black Spiders and Grave Lines. Kind of hard to believe Desertfest London 2017 is only two rounds into lineup announcements, but like I said, you’re imaginative, so I’m sure you can picture some of the awesomeness still to come as we get closer to April.

Here’s word from the fest:

CANDLEMASS, LOWRIDER AND MORE JOIN DESERTFEST 2017

DESERTFEST LONDON is pleased to announce the second batch of bands who will be joining the likes of Turbonegro, Samsara Blues Experiment, Yuri Gagarin and Vodun on April 28-29-30th, 2017 in Camden. Ever-growing diversity alongside a solid selection of grass-root acts, has helped cement Desertfest as the go-to festival for doom, stoner rock, psych and all its subsidiaries, with a sixth edition set to be the most eclectic and heavy to date.

First up, we are honoured to welcome a band that needs no introduction: legendary doom metallers CANDLEMASS. Encompassing the ethos of what Desertfest has meant since its inception, Candlemass are one of the most influential and celebrated doom bands in not only Sweden’s musical history, but in heavy music history as a whole. Pure, unapologetic, true doom metal that’ll never disappoint.

A second offering from the Swedes comes in the form of stoner rock stalwarts LOWRIDER. Back in 2013, their momentous reunion after a 10-year hiatus took place exclusively at Desertfest London. It’s a privilege to once again host the return of the riff-ready heroes, who have been bringing their desert-sound to revellers since the late 90s. Also on the bill are UK party boys BLACK SPIDERS, whose fast-paced, high voltage lunacy will rattle out the cobwebs. Despite having recently announced a hiatus, these rock’n’roll maniacs will come back at Desertfest for one last blowout.

1000MODS will too be bringing their psychedelic vibrations to 2017’s line-up. Their unique commitment to a vintage sound, held up by playing with classic instruments, undoubtedly makes them a must-see act on any bill. Underground heroes PIGS, PIGS, PIGS, PIGS, PIGS, PIGS, PIGS also make a welcome addition, with their loud and exciting blend of psych, noise and post-rock. Austin based trio THE WELL are jumping over the pond to thrash out their progressive take on heavy rock, taking that classic nostalgia and twisting it with a hearty laden of adrenaline.

London’s very own STUBB will lay out their fuzzy blues at Desertfest – greatly influenced by the 60 & 70s trio’s of the same genre, they’ve gained respect as a sold live act. Germany’s WUCAN describe themselves as “Topsy-Turvy Higgledy-Piggledy Folk-Blues-Psych-Stoner-ProtoMetal-Soul, with a pinch of confusion” – which may sound like all-over chaos, but they have truly honed their style thanks to an expert fusion of 70’s drenched goodness.

Final acts to join Desertfest London 2017 are metal killers Austin’s VENOMOUS MAXIMUS, newcomers GRAVE LINES – one of the most exciting bands to come out of London – trust us, you’ll want to be there, as they are soon to become one of those acts everyone claims they heard first.

We are proud and excited for what next year has in store. But this is only the tip of the iceberg as there is much, much more to come. Stay tuned!

– DESERTFEST LONDON 2017 – 28th to 30th April in Camden, London Weekend passes are availableHERE

Who’s ready for another round of 10 reviews in The Obelisk’s Quarterly Review? I know I am. We gotta hit 50 by Friday, and there’s still a lot — a lot — of ground to cover. Yesterday was all over the place style-wise and today has some of that going as well, but there’s a lot of quality in both, so hopefully you get to check some of it out. Today is the all important QR Hump Day, wherein we pass the halfway mark on our way to the total 50 reviews. If you’re wondering, it’s Lord Vicar who do the honors this time around at #25. Just kind of worked out that way, but I’ll take it. Down to business.

Quarterly Review #21-30:

Mirrors for Psychic Warfare, Mirrors for Psychic Warfare

Probably fair to call Mirrors for Psychic Warfare an offshoot of Corrections House, since its two members – Scott Kelly (also Neurosis) and Sanford Parker (producer extraordinaire/also Buried at Sea) – are also in that group, but the feel of their Neurot Recordings self-titled debut is substantially different, rawer and at times harsher. Parker handles beats and electronics, creating at times a wash of abrasive noise as in the culmination of “CNN WTZ,” the centerpiece of the five tracks, and elsewhere providing an industrial backdrop for Kelly’s voice for a gothic feel, as on “A Thorn to See.” Unsurprisingly, nothing about Mirrors for Psychic Warfare makes for particularly easy listening – though opener “Oracles Hex” has some commonality with Kelly’s solo work and his voice is resonant as ever – but as they round out the album with “43,” the keys, synth and guitar find some common ground, which leaves distorted shouts from Kelly to do the work of taking listeners to task. We already knew these two worked well together, and the partnership once again bears fruit here.

Candlemass, Death Thy Lover

The four-song Death Thy Lover EP (on Napalm) is the first new studio offering of original material from Swedish doom legends Candlemass since their 2012 album, Psalms for the Dead (review here), marked the end of the tenure of vocalist Robert Lowe, also of Solitude Aeturnus. His replacement is the person who nearly had the job in the first place, Mats Levén (formerly Therion), who has a kind of stateliness to his presence in opener “Death Thy Lover” but suits the plod of “Sleeping Giant” well. Of course, at the center of the band is bassist/songwriter Leif Edling, whose style is unmistakable in these tracks, whether it’s the late-Iommi-style riffing of “Sinister ‘n’ Sweet” or “Death Thy Lover”’s chugging its way toward the hook. Candlemass save the most grueling for last with “The Goose,” as guitarists Mats “Mappe” Björkman and Lars “Lasse” Johansson intertwine a chugging rhythm and extended soloing over dirge-march drums from Jan Lindh to give the short release a darkened instrumental finale.

Skuggsjá, A Piece for Mind and Mirror

Talk about scope. Oh, only a country’s entire cultural history is fair game for Skuggsjá, the brainchild of Norwegian artists Ivar Bjørnson (also Enslaved) and Einar Selvik (also Wardruna) that crosses the line between black metal and Norse traditionalism probably better than anyone has ever done it before. A Piece for Mind and Mirror is the studio incarnation of the work the two composers and a host of others did as commissioned for the 200th anniversary of the Norwegian constitution, and though it’s broken into 10 movements for the album, it flows together as one orchestral entirety, the gurgle of Grutle Kjellson (Enslaved) recognizable in the eponymous track amid choral backing and a richly textured blend of traditional folk instruments and metallic thrust. The lyrics are Norwegian, but whether it’s the blowing horn of “Makta Og Vanæra (I All Tid)” or the lush melodies in the march of “Bøn Om Ending – Bøn Om Byrjing,” the sense of pride and the creative accomplishment of A Piece for Mind and Mirror ring through loud and clear.

Black Lung, See the Enemy

Two years after making their self-titled debut, Baltimore heavy bluesfuzz trio Black Lung come swaggering back with the spacious vibes of See the Enemy (on Noisolution), which takes the establishing steps the first album laid out and builds on them fluidly and with a clear direction in mind. At eight tracks/45 minutes produced by J. Robbins, the album was clearly structured for vinyl, each half ending with a longer cut, the psych-jamming “Nerve” on side A, which resounds in an ending of scorching guitar from Adam Bufano atop the drums of Elias Schutzman (both of The Flying Eyes), and the closer “8MM,” on which Bufano, Schutzman, guitarist/vocalist Dave Cavalier and Robbins (who also contributes bass) roll out the record’s most massive groove and cap it with an impenetrable wall of noise. While the songs are striking in their cohesion and poise, there are moments where one wants Black Lung to really let loose, as after Trevor Shipley’s keyboard stretch in “Priestess,” but they have other ideas, feeding the title-track directly into “8MM” with no less a firm sense of control than shown earlier. All told, an excellent follow-up that deserves broader consideration among 2016’s finer offerings.

Lord Vicar, Gates of Flesh

Offered through The Church Within Records as a paean to classic doom, Lord Vicar’s third LP, Gates of Flesh, nonetheless almost can’t help but put its own mark on the style. The Turku, Finland, outfit’s first album in five years, it finds guitarist Kimi Kärki (ex-Reverend Bizarre, Orne, E-Musikgruppe Lux Ohr, etc.), vocalist Chritus (also Goatess, ex-Saint Vitus, Count Raven, etc.), and drummer Gareth Millsted (ex-Centurions Ghost) — who, along with Kärki, also contributed bass after the band parted ways with Jussi Myllykoski and prior to adding Sami Hynninen as a temporary replacement — bold enough to shift into minimalist spaciousness on “A Shadow of Myself,” and really, they’re not through opener “Birth of Wine” before Kärki executes a gorgeous dual-layered solo. Trace those roots back to Trouble if you must, but there’s no question to whom the lurch of centerpiece “Breaking the Circle” or the sorrowful 10-minute closer “Leper, Leper” belongs, and the same holds true for everything that follows, be it the quiet start of “A Woman out of Snow” or the swinging second half of “Accidents.” Lord Vicar enact the doom of ages and take complete ownership of the sound, thus only adding to the canon as they go.

Dakessian, The Poisoned Chalice

Like the stench of rotting, Dakessian’s The Poisoned Chalice provokes a visceral and physical response. The long-in-the-making debut release from the Portland-based duo of vocalist Kenny Snarzyk (also Fister) and multi-instrumentalist Aaron D.C. Edge (Lumbar, Roareth, so many others) had its music recorded back in 2013, and the vocals were added earlier this year, throat-searing screams and growls that top the noisy, claustrophobically weighted tones from Edge’s guitar. The onslaught is unrelenting, both longer songs like “Demons” and “Ten Double Zero” and shorter cuts “Nothing Forever” and the sample-laced opener “Choose Hate” brim with aggressive misanthropy, the will against. Even the penultimate “Baerial,” which offers a glimmer of melody, continues to crush, and starting with a slow drum progression, closer “Cosmic Dissolution” barely tops two and a half minutes, but it brings thorough reassurance of the project’s destructive force before its final drone rounds out. One never knows with Edge if a given band will ever have a follow-up, but as ever, the quality is consistent. In this case, brutally so.

Gypsy Chief Goliath, Citizens of Nowhere

Actually, if you want to get technical about it, Gypsy Chief Goliath are citizens of Ontario, but you’d never know it from listening to their third album, Citizens of Nowhere, which if you had to pin a geographic locale on it might be more of a fit for New Orleans than Canada. The Pitch Black Records release sees the triple-guitar-plus-harmonica six-piece outfit dug deep in Southern metal grooves, marked out by the burl-bringing vocals of frontman/guitarist Al “The Yeti” Bones, formerly of Mister Bones, Serpents of Secrecy and The Mighty Nimbus and the chug-and-churn of cuts like “Black Samurai” and the shuffle of “We Died for This.” The title-track winds its central riff with thickened-up ‘70s boogie, while “Elephant in the Room” and “The Return” space out a bit more, and the closing Black Sabbath cover “Killing Yourself to Live” (a CD bonus track) plays it loyal structurally while dude’ing up the original like it was on hormone therapy.

Inter Arma, Paradise Gallows

Hard-touring Richmond genre-benders Inter Arma are due for a landmark release. Their 2014 single-song EP, The Cavern, was wildly well received and earned every bit of praise it got. Their follow-up to that is Paradise Gallows, their third album and second for Relapse behind 2013’s Sky Burial (track stream here). Is Paradise Gallows that landmark? Hell if I know. Recorded, mixed and mastered by Mikey Allred, who also guests on trombone, bass violin, organ and noise, Inter Arma’s third brings an expansive 70 minutes of bleak progressivism, conceptually and sonically broad enough to be considered brilliant and still weighted enough that the prevailing vibe is extremity in their blend of sludge, doom, black metal, post-metal, atmospherics, and a moody acoustic closer. The only real danger is that it might take listeners time to digest – because it’s a lot to take in, all those twists and turns in “Violent Constellations,” particularly after the plod of the title-track – but I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to find Inter Arma inhabiting any number of year-end lists for 2016. Once again, they earn it.

Helgamite, Hypnagogia

Virginian bruisers Helgamite manage to cover a deceptive amount of sonic ground on their second LP, Hypnagogia (on CD through Lost Apparitions with vinyl soon on Flesh Vessel), spending plenty of time in dense-toned sludge metal but using that as a foundation for a wider range of explorations, winding up in blastbeats by the time 13-minute side B finale “The Secret” comes around, but by then having torn through the aggro-thrash of “Origins,” lumbered through the mosher “Æstrosion” and topped off “Shaman’s Veil” with math-metal guitar fits melded to a saxophone arrangement. Growls from vocalist William Breeden and Jonah Butler’s drums tie it all together as guitarist Casey Firkin (also sax) and bassist Matthew Beahm pull off intermittently jazzy runs, but impressively, Helgamite never sound in danger of losing sight of the songs they’re serving, and Hypnogogia is stronger for its unwillingness to waste a second of its runtime, even in the aforementioned “The Secret” or its 10-minute side A counterpart, “Snowdrifter.”

Mollusk, Children of the Chron

Get it? Children of the Chron? I’ll admit it took me a second. While I was thinking about it, Allston, Massachusetts, duo Mollusk doled out sludge-punk-metal beatings via raw tones and shouts and a general sense of checked-out attitude, “Glacier” reminding of earliest, least-poppy Floor, but cuts like “Demon Queen” and “When You’re Gone” finding guitarist Hank Rose using a purposefully monotone vocal approach that works well over slower parts. Rose is joined in Mollusk by drummer Adam O’Day, and though I’ve already noted that the 11-track album is raw, their sound wants nothing for impact in the low end or any other end for that matter. Rather, the harsher aspects become part of the aesthetic throughout Children of the Chron and the band successfully navigates its own mire without getting lost in either its own “Torture Chamber” or “Zombie Apocalypse,” which like opener “Ride the #9,” is almost certainly a song about life in the Boston area.

In the fine tradition of, well, last year’s Psycho fest, 2016’s Psycho Las Vegas has announced an overwhelmingly impressive initial group of acts for its lineup, including some of the finest North America has to offer and choice imports. Notable in that category are Candlemass, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Colour Haze, Mars Red Sky, Belzebong, Øresund Space Collective and The Cosmic Dead, and they’re joined by returning figureheads Sleep and Pentagram, who headlined the 2015 Psycho California fest, along with YOB, Down, Mudhoney, Acid King, Fu Manchu and a whole host of others listed below.

The truly insane part about Psycho Las Vegas is that, like last year with Psycho California, the lineup is staggered, so this isn’t it. On Valentines Day, the festival will announce its full lineup of acts, which I’m just going to go out on a limb and assume includes everyone else on earth, and then after that, in March, they’ll follow up again with the headliners. So what we learn today is that 2015’s headliners will have someone playing over them. I don’t know who, or how that could be possible, but you can bet your ass I’m anxious to find out.

All the details so far unveiled about Psycho Las Vegas, as well as the link to purchase tickets, appear below:

PSYCHO LAS VEGAS 2016

Neon Knights arrive and ignite the the city of light in a sleepless celebration of heavy culture. High rollin’ low lifes will low roll the high life at the world famous Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in “Sin City”, Las Vegas. For three straight days, from August 26th through the 28th, born losers win as Psycho Las Vegas holds a rock steady hand of bands, performance artists, tattoo artists, art exhibits, a black light chamber, custom van and chopper show, pinball arcade, and much more.

Psycho Las Vegas sins and grins two blocks south of the strip at the expansive Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. The high-octane Rock ‘n’ Roll-themed casino resort hosts three stages; The Joint, which is a main stage, Vinyl, the rock club and out under the desert night sky is the second main stage, The Pool Stage. Experience live music, 24 hours a day.

In between bands and bets, ride outside to the venue’s open lot and witness the most bitchin’ rides this side of Death Valley at Psycho’s first ever custom van and chopper show!

Psycho Las Vegas features some of the most revered screen printed poster artwork with an exclusive exhibition from commissioned Psycho Las Vegas artist David D’Andrea. D’andrea, who returns to Psycho for a second year, created all the official festival artwork. Attendees will be able to eternally commemorate the event on their own walls with signed, limited edition works from D’Andrea.

Psycho Las Vegas acts and events were co-curated with music scene stalwart Sean “Pellet” Pelletier. (“Last Days Here” documentary) “Thief Present’s ‘Psycho’ festivals are visionary and have consecutively been the number one music event I’ve want to attend since they’ve started”, said Pellet. “I’ve been dreaming about putting on a cool culture and music festival for quite some time and I jumped at the chance to help us all go psycho in Las Vegas! The event is a celebration of subculture and a spiritual gateway for all of us into sonically connected sub-genres of heavy rock that hopefully, some of which, may be new to our senses. I’m booking bands that I’ve always personally wanted to see and have requested setlists that we’ve all wanted to hear.”

Among the first string of live acts announced will be hard rock legends, BLUE OYSTER CULT with a set heavy on their early songs that have inspired so many great bands over the years. Mark Arm and Steve Turner, also both of Green RIver-fame, will remind us why MUDHONEY are heralded as essential grandfathers of grunge. English psych rock pioneer, THE CRAZY WORLD OF ARTHUR BROWN returns to America with a performance sure to highlight where groundbreaking artists such as Kiss, Alice Cooper, and Ghost may have gotten some of their ideas. We’ve reunited proto-metal masters TRUTH AND JANEY who will appear for an exclusive live set to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their underground classic debut, “No Rest For The Wicked”! “A Band Called Death” documentary film stars DEATH, pulsate the pool stage and will show us why they are finally considered one of the first Detroit punk bands. Germany’s top psychedelic stoners COLOUR HAZE have chosen the festival for a rare US manifestation that’s sure rise us all high above the neon. Swedish doom metal ministers CANDLEMASS come crushing in yet another one of Psycho Las Vegas’s special performances. Stay tuned for the announcement of even more acts, over 60 in total, over the next few months.